Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

Amendment No. 44, which is the sole amendment covered in group 6, enables the authority to establish committees that do not include board members as long as those committees include staff members of the organisation. This is in line with similar provisions in the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999. A previous requirement in the Bill for committees to consist wholly or partly of persons who are members of the authority was overly restrictive and could place an excessive burden on members of the authority, particularly as the board is of a relatively small size. That is the reason we are introducing the amendment.